Winder police recently arrested a man and woman who they say stole hundreds of dollars by using a “contraption” to fool a change machine.

The gadget they used was a $20 bill attached to packing tape, according to police.

“The contraption was basically a bill of currency with (tape) attached to it so that when it was fed into a coin exchange machine it could immediately be pulled back out,” Winder police Sgt. Chris Cooper said. “It would trigger the machine into thinking it received the paper money and would dispense coins as change.”

Cooper said Joseph Royce-Chance Coughlin and Kelsey Nicole Frost used the gimmick to steal about $400 from the change machine at a Winder laundromat.

Police conducted a stakeout of the laundromat after receiving six reports of thefts between May 5-10.

Though they had obtained some surveillance images of the thefts, police said they were unable to identify the suspects.

“Detectives from the police department, working with patrol officers, were able to conduct surveillance over several nights and arrest Coughlin in the act as he was stealing the money utilizing a contraption he devised to trick the change machine into delivering change,” Cooper said.

Frost was with Coughlin at the time and also was arrested early Friday morning, he said.

An investigation continued to see if the pair stole from businesses in other jurisdictions, according to Cooper.

“Winder detectives are checking with Suwanee, Lawrenceville and other surrounding areas to see if any other departments have had similar crimes,” the officer said.

Coughlin, 30, of Suwanee, was charged with seven counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of theft by taking and one count of criminal trespass.

Frost, 25, of Lawrenceville, was charged with two counts of second-degree burglary. She was released on Wednesday after posting a total bond of $6,000 bond.

Coughlin remained incarcerated at the Barrow County Detention Center in lieu of a $34,000 total bond.